Funny reference!

Today, i was starting on the next part of the storyline of Operation: Shieldwall, wich is tagged as "An Ancient Ally" .

During this questchain you go to free a hozen called the "Monkey King". I tought, hmm, that sounds familiar. Then when you enter the tomb, you see the Monkey King and a mogu called the Jade Warlord imprisoned!
I tought: "No way!". This is obviously a reference to the movie "The Forbidden Kingdom" with Jackie Chan and Jet li.

A discovery made by a kung fu obsessed American teen sends him on an adventure to China, where he joins up with a band of martial arts warriors in order to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

Sorry to say, the reference goes back a little ways further than a silly Kung-fu flick. Though the Jade Warlord might be, but then again, the Jade Army of the Mogu was already a thing in the Vale.

The Monkey King is an actual Chinese myth from "the Journey to the West". He's the main character, a 'monkey born from a stone' (sounds familiar?) who uses supernatural power to challenge and prank the Gods themselves. It is one of the most popular myths and has spawned a lot of spin-offs, most noticably in anime such as Dragonball* and Naruto**.

Back before MoP was released I voiced my hopes of them referencing this great tale, especially after revealing the Hozen. I'm very glad they did. First in the story of Emperor Shaohao, and now later where we actually get to meet our mask-crafting prankster.

* Dragonball's Goku of course having a monkey tail, flying a nimbus cloud, and having an extending/retracting Bo staff pre-DragonballZ. Also the Monkey King is named Sun Wukong, which got japanized to "Son Goku" for the anime, shortened to "Goku" for us westerners. Picture.

** Naruto's village leader summons the Monkey King as one of his moves, he too has his trademark extending/retracting Bo staff. Picture.

Last edited by Chonar; 2012-12-13 at 12:27 PM.

If World of Warcraft has taught me anything, it's that teaching a crowd something is far harder than teaching individuals.